Assignment:
Question 1. Review this excerpt of As You Like It, a play by William Shakespeare.
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts
Which of the following statements is true about the use of literary devices in this excerpt?
o The author uses a metaphor in the first line of the excerpt, comparing the world to a stage.
o The author uses a simile the second line comparing people with actors.
o The author uses personification of a stage in the last line.
o The author uses epigram in the third line.
Question 2. Which of the following excerpts from Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" contains an example of symbolism?
o Then took the other [road], as just as fair, / And having perhaps the better claim, / Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
o I shall be telling this with a sigh / Somewhere ages and ages hence
o I doubted if I should ever come back.
Question 3. Which type of poetry is illustrated in the following:
In the twilight rain
these brilliant-hued hibiscus
A lovely sunset.
--Basho
o Haiku
o Alliteration
o Limerick
o Personification
Question 4. Review the following poem by Sylvia Plath.
The Mirror
I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.
Whatever I see I swallow immediately
Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.
I am not cruel, only truthful ‚
The eye of a little god, four-cornered.
In 1 to 2 paragraphs, discuss in your own words your interpretation of the meaning of this poem. In your discussion, identify the literary devices she used to convey her meaning.
Question 5. Review the following poem by Emily Dickenson:
I heard a Fly buzz - when I died -
The Stillness in the Room
Was like the Stillness in the Air -
Between the Heaves of Storm -
In one paragraph discuss the author's use of literary devices in this poem.
Question 6. During this course, I had you read, interpret, and write poetry.
First, in your own words explain the process you went through to write your own poem. What elements of the course, for example, did you have to consider when writing it? What was challenging about this process?
In addition, discuss what you can take from writing poetry and how can you apply it to a professional setting.
Question 7. Here is a fun question for thinking ahead and a way for me to encourage you to continue on with literature (hopefully). Following is a list of the most popular world literature titles and top 100 poems.
Explore a few of the titles and/or poems. Identify 3 to 5 stories, novels, or poets you would like to read more about after this class is over. Explain why you chose them
https://100.best-poems.net/
https://www.perfectionlearning.com/top-100-world-literature-titles
Question 8. Review the following Shakespearian Sonnet. Then, in your own words, use 2 to 3 paragraphs to discuss the use of symbolism and literary devices in the poem
Sonnet 18
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimmed;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,
Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to Time thou grow'st.
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.